@trinsec Honeybees have flower preferences, as far as I know (all about convenience of access, distance from the nest, and protein content of the pollen), but when flowers are scarce or depleted they’ll go for any available. Whereas most other bees have far narrower preferences and less flexibility. A generalist vs specialist split.
All be said, honeybee colonies overwinter, whereas most other bees die out when their favorite flowers wane, leaving their progeny hibernating until the next year.
@trinsec Honeybees have flower preferences, as far as I know (all about convenience of access, distance from the nest, and protein content of the pollen), but when flowers are scarce or depleted they’ll go for any available. Whereas most other bees have far narrower preferences and less flexibility. A generalist vs specialist split.
All be said, honeybee colonies overwinter, whereas most other bees die out when their favorite flowers wane, leaving their progeny hibernating until the next year.